Arul woke to the insistent twittering of a red-throated bulbul. He blinked and let the light fall on his eyes, the golden colours of dawn brightening into a clear blue morning. Guru Pari was sitting cross-legged near the ashes of the campfire, eyes closed, his back very straight, meditating. Arul jerked himself upright. ‘Guru, why didn’t you wake me at dawn?’
Pari opened one eye. ‘Hmm? Well, you needed the sleep, don’t you think?’ He was right. Arul felt exhausted, and the long rest had done him good. They had to wake Keeran though, and it wasn’t an easy task.
It was late morning before they broke camp and hiked downhill to the mountain road. Arul found it a lot easier going downhill, and his breathing became effortless once more. As he walked, he mulled over all that he had heard the night before.
Am I a Navigator? What does that even mean for me?
They journeyed all day until the sun was low on the horizon as they stood on the pass overlooking the lake, the failing light turning the water the deepest blue. A thin column of smoke rose lazily from the campsite hidden behind a ring of boulders. Arul wanted to be with Navira and Jaya so badly that it hurt. Grinning, Keeran clapped him on the back and pointed. Jaya was running like the wind towards them, barely slowing on the steep climb.
Arul waited with a huge smile on his face as Jaya sprinted into his open arms, knocking him over and licking him in a frenzy of affection. It pushed Arul’s grief about his parents back into the dark places of his mind, although he knew like the outgoing tide, it would return in time. Pari had often said that life was so much like an ocean.
Guru Pari beamed at Jaya and began to stride downhill towards the lake, humming some old village folk song. Down by the lake, Navira and Master Seri figures appeared from behind a boulder, waved madly. Arul hurried downhill, waving as Jaya leapt about, tail wagging madly.
The party reunited down by the lake with a flurry of hugs and laughter. ‘So you did sneak off after them!’ Navira said to Keeran. ‘We had no idea where you’d gone, although I suspected you’d followed them.’ Keeran lowered his head, ashamed of his recklessness.
‘Don’t worry, Navira,’ Guru Pari said. ‘I knew he was behind us all along.’ Keeran dropped his head even lower.
Soon it was dark, and they sat around the campfire listening to Arul’s account of the journey. Navira’s eyes grew round as he described the meadow and all of its wonders. Later that night, Keeran and Arul told Navira about the river of light, the tower, and the Navigators.
She shook her head. ‘That can’t be true, can it? My head feels like it’s going to explode!’ She stood up and rubbed her arms. ‘But it’s good to know our village is safe from those predators.’ Then she smiled. ‘It’s nice to know that we came from such greatness.’ Arul and Keeran happily agreed on that point. They, like their ancestors, were children of the stars.
The night grew colder and the sky filled with black rainclouds, a steady wind pushing in from the west. They ate a meal of spiced lake fish and fried onions before stretching out around the campfire. Before long it began to rain, heavy drops of freezing water splattering off the rocks, turning the lake into a bleak grey expanse.
They ran for the shelter of Seri’s hut, huddling in the gloomy interior as the rain thundered down. ‘Someone needs to go to the capital and warn the King of this problem with the towers. He needs to help other villages. The ones near towers, if any of them still stand,’ Navira said.
‘I’ll go to Ailas and confer with the King. We’ve had some dealings in the past, so he might listen to my pleas,’ Guru Pari said. The others regarded him with wide eyes as thunder ripped through the air with a deafening crack.
‘You’ve actually met the King?’ Arul stammered.
Seri chuckled softly in the corner. ‘Had some dealings? I’d say you’ve had some dealings with His Majesty. I wonder if he’ll listen to you or execute you.’
‘What does he mean?’ Asked Keeran.
Pari coughed. ‘Well…the King and I had a difference of opinion regarding the right of one’s children to choose who they marry.’ He glanced at Arul.
‘Who got married?’ Arul said. But his Guru didn’t say any more, shifting closer to Seri and talking to him in a hushed voice.
They stayed inside all night as the rain lessened, but kept up a steady patter on the roof. Arul stood near a shuttered window and thought about who would go to the Royal City with Guru Pari, and who would go to back to Sailem. He lay down, covering himself with his cloak and yawned, a feeling that he would see Ailas in the near future settling over him.
It was a good feeling.
The morning was cold and damp, mist lying over the lake in white clouds like mounds of cotton. Seri stood at their camp to bid them farewell, keenly observing the flurry of activity. They were packed and ready soon after dawn.
Seri shook hands with all of them in turn, pausing in front of Navira. He handed her a rolled piece of leather. ‘You do remember what I’ve taught you about the kinds of healing herbs and plants in the mountains?’ He said. ‘Study this scroll well. Perhaps we shall meet again.’ Then he shifted to Arul and patted him on the shoulder, leaning close and speaking in a low voice. ‘Guru Pari told you that we knew your Amma did he? Come back and see me sometime and I’ll tell you more.’
Arul looked curiously at Seri, wanting to ask him so many things. But there was no time. He grasped Seri’s rough hands. ‘Thank you for helping us. And thank you for helping my Amma.’
Seri clenched his jaw and nodded, eyes filling with tears. Arul smiled at him and turned south to the Brown Hills, knowing it was time to leave the valley of the Blue Lake.